Top welterweight stars of the past, present and future have
weighed in with their thoughts on the highly anticipated
matchup that pits former welterweight champions Danny Garcia
and Shawn Porter against each other for the vacant WBC
Welterweight World Title Saturday, September 8 in the main
event live on SHOWTIME from Barclays Center, the home of
BROOKLYN BOXING™.

Here is what a group of current and former welterweight
fighters had to say about the Garcia vs. Porter world title
showdown:
SUGAR RAY LEONARD, Hall of Famer & Former Unified
Welterweight World Champion

"I feel the Danny Garcia vs. Shawn Porter fight has the
makings of an exciting fight from what I've seen of both of
these talented fighters. So here is my prediction based on
what I feel both fighters bring into the ring

Garcia will win if he uses his jab to keep Porter at bay and
off balance, but Porter gains a victory if he connects and
hurts Garcia early and makes him abandon his boxing ability
and fight like a slugger -- as I did with my first fight vs
Roberto Duran.

This is how I see this matchup which should be an exciting
fight!"
ERROL SPENCE JR., Unbeaten IBF Welterweight World Champion

"I definitely want to fight the winner of Danny Garcia vs.
Shawn Porter. That's a close fight. I always picked against
Danny Garcia in the past, and he always proved me wrong.
Shawn Porter's always a tough fight, because he's going to
come forward and give it his all. He's basically trying to
mug you. But for this fight, it's hard to go against Danny
Garcia. I pick Danny Garcia to win a split decision.”
KEITH THURMAN, WBA Welterweight World Champion; Former
Unified Champion

"I honestly love this fight, and I consider it a tremendous
battle and one of the best matchups of the year. For me,
having fought both of them, I do believe that each is
capable of hurting the other and getting one another out of
there.

"I know most fans are going to lean toward Danny Garcia with
his knockout power and the potential for that. Then there is
Shawn, who’s got a decent punch, even though he focuses on
his output more than his one-punch solid blow and has it in
his arsenal to hurt Danny Garcia.

"I wouldn't bet on Shawn getting the knockout, but I would
on Shawn getting the victory, simply because of his output.
I think Danny's only chance of winning is by knockout, but
even as a gambling man, I can't put my money on Danny
getting it. I'm taking Shawn Porter by decision."
MANNY PACQUIAO, Multiple-Time Welterweight World Champion

"I'm going to give the edge to Danny Garcia. They're both
gritty fighters, but I think Garcia is a little more
technical with a little more ring generalship. It should be
a great fight, and there's a possibility of me fighting the
winner, but we'll have to see what happens."
MIKEY GARCIA, Four-Division World Champion

"I think this is a very good matchup. Shawn Porter is the
kind of athlete who is always bringing the fight to you with
pressure and volume punching. They both come to fight and
they can both take it and dish it out.

"Danny Garcia can use his skills to box on the outside and
work from a distance. I think Danny will be able to box a
little more and win more of the tight rounds in a very close
fight. I'm not sure if it will be a split-decision or a
unanimous decision. I believe that Danny will use more of
those tactics to win an exciting decision."
YORDENIS UGAS, Top Welterweight Contender

"I have much respect for Shawn Porter, and I think it will
be a great fight. ,

Danny Garcia has more technique and he's also faced and
beaten better opponents than Porter. I am leaning toward
Danny Garcia to pull off the victory."
ROBERT GUERRERO, Former Multiple Division World Champion

"This will be a very entertaining fight for the fans. I can
see Danny putting up a good fight, but Porter is going to
make the fight rough, and Garcia doesn't like those type of
fights. I'm going with Porter to win by split decision."
VICTOR ORTIZ, Former Welterweight World Champion

"I think it's going to be a fast-paced fight. Shawn will be
pushing forward, making it rough on Danny, and Danny will be
trying to control the distance. I'm going with Danny, giving
him the slight edge and saying he wins by a decision."
JAMAL JAMES, Welterweight Contender

"It's a good one. Shawn is busier than Danny, more active
and carries a lot of momentum when he fights. But that's not
always a good thing because Garcia has power with his
timing, he might be able to catch Porter coming in. I'm
thinking that Shawn Porter pulls it off. "
BRANDON RIOS, Former World Champion & Welterweight Title
Challenger

"That's a really tough fight to predict. If Danny can
counter really well and keep Shawn Porter off of him while
Porter's coming in, then I see Danny stopping him.

But if Shawn Porter is able to pressure Danny like he
usually does, I don't see Shawn Porter stopping Danny, or
anything, but I see him winning by split-decision if he can
be in his chest all night long. But if Porter gets nailed
with one of those left hooks or a straight right hand, I say
Porter goes down. I'm going to go with Danny because he
knocked me out."
BRYANT PERRELLA, Welterweight Prospect

"It could come down to how well Shawn Porter can take Danny
Garcia's punches in a fight that's really hard to predict,
and how well Danny can move, given that he's not known for
having fast feet similar to a guy like Keith Thurman.

But if Shawn can get close and smother Danny's punches, he
will make it a difficult fight. But Danny's got really heavy
hands and sits on his shots well, timing and
counter-punching guys, so Porter could play into his hands.

Based off of clean, effective hard shots and giving him the
edge in the close, competitive rounds, I'm leaning toward
Danny Garcia. Shawn is tough as nails, so I see it going the
distance, but just the slight edge to Danny."
SAMMY VASQUEZ JR., Welterweight Contender

"I'm going with Shawn Porter. Not by stoppage, but Shawn
creates too much pressure and Danny Garcia doesn't throw
enough punches and doesn't deal with pressure. You saw that
when he fought Guerrero, who wasn't looking too bad in that
fight.

"Danny can win by knockout if he catches Shawn with that
hook, but Shawn's a workhorse and he puts forth far more
pressure than I think Danny's ever seen in a fight. Shawn
may not be susceptible to it if he doesn't have the proper
head movement, but I believe that he will."